1. Field of Invention.
The present invention relates to devices for supporting the tongue of a towed vehicle while disengaged from the towing vehicle.
2. Description of the prior art.
Towed vehicles, such as, utility trailers, boat trailers, house trailers and the like, are frequently provided with a built-in jack which can raise the trailer hitch off the ball or other attaching means on the towing vehicle. Once raised, the tongue is supported while the trailer is in a stationary location thereby freeing the vehicle for other use.
Such built-in jacks are usually welded or bolted to the tongue and can be raised off the ground to clear the road during travel. In a screw jack, for example, once the trailer is attached to the towing vehicle, the jack handle is rotated until the base of the jack is pulled as high as possible. In order to obtain maximum ground clearance during towing, many devices have been provided for rotating the support, such as, a jack or stand to a more or less horizontal position. This is accomplished by providing means which will hold the jack or stand firmly in position while in the support mode and, in addition, hold the jack or stand firmly in a retracted position out of harm during towing. For example, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,975 issued to William R. Parkhurst on Feb. 22, 1972, shows a locking apparatus for holding the stand in either a vertical or horizontal position. This is accomplished by providing a latch which engages with a notch holding the stand firmly in a vertical position, which latch must then be manually released from the notch while the jack is then rotated to the horizontal position where the latch then engages with a second notch.
This approach of using a latch which engages with notches located in predetermined position is likewise shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,571,390 issued to S. Strand on Oct. 16, 1951. Again, the stand is held in a vertical position by virtue of a latch firmly engaging with a notch, and in order to move the stand to a horizontal position, the latch must be manually pulled out of the notch to allow the stand to be swung into the horizontal position where a second notch is located allowing one to manually latch the stand at that position. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,733 issued on Sept. 20, 1966, to D. H. Schuler, an adjustable jack which is adjustable by means of a screwthread is likewise provided with a latch and notch system for firmly holding the jack in a vertical position. Again, in order to release the jack, the latch must be manually removed from the notch to allow the jack to be rotated out of the way during towing.
The above is exemplary of prior art showing various assemblies for supporting a trailer tongue while the trailer is stationary, but with means provided to allow the supporting assembly to be rotated manually so that it is out of the way during towing.